Sapphirinidae is a
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
of
parasitic copepod
Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor) ...
s in the
order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
Cyclopoida.
[ ]
Description
Males come in a variety of bright and flashy colors. In contrast, the females are transparent. The reason for this
sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...
is that males need to attract the attention of females in order to mate.
Genera
The family Sapphirinidae consists of the following genera:
* ''
Copilia
''Copilia'' is a genus of copepods in the family Sapphirinidae. The eyes in members of this genus have two lenses, arranged like those in a telescope.
Species
The genus ''Copilia'' contains the following species:
* '' Copilia asiaticus'' ( ...
''
Dana, 1849
* ''
Sapphirina''
J. Thompson, 1830
* ''
Vettoria''
C. B. Wilson, 1924
References
External links
*
Poecilostomatoida
Crustacean families
{{Copepod-stub